Plant production of transgenic Eucalyptus camaldulensis carrying the Populus tremuloides cinnamate 4-hydroxylase gene

The gene encoding cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) from Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) was transferred in a sense or antisense orientation into a superior clone of Eucalyptus camaldulensis via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Transformed cells, calli, shoots, and plants were obtained, and transformation was verified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Transgenic shoots carrying the C4H gene proliferated and elongated at a much greater rate than both transgenic control shoots harboring the β-glucouronidase (GUS) gene and untransformed control shoots. Two independent lines of each of the transgenic plants carrying sense or antisense C4H were produced. Genomic DNA analyses confirmed that the aspen C4H gene was successfully transferred and integrated into the chromosomal genome of these E. camaldulensis transgenic plants. More than 100 rooted cuttings derived from these transgenic plants were generated and have been out-planted for further characterization.